Galiano Island is one of the Southern Gulf Islands. Located in the Strait of Georgia, it is 27.5 kilometres long, 6 km at its widest point, and 1.6 km across at its narrowest point.
Named after the Spanish explorer Dionisio Galiano, who explored the area in 1792, the island was long inhabited by aboriginal people from the Coast Salish nation. Midden pits at Montague Harbour suggest 3000 years of inhabitance. According to the 2001 Canadian census, Galiano Island has 1,005 full time residents. Industries of the past were logging and fishing, although today tourism and the arts are the most common methods of employment.
Government of the island is handled by the Islands Trust, as it is with all the Gulf Islands. The Islands Trust's mandate is to establish land-use bylaws to "preserve and protect" the island, most notably in terms of development. Since MacMillan Bloedel sold their holdings on Galiano, there has been much debate as to how this land should be used, with the Island's Trust setting minimum lot sizes to limit development.
Elections are held every three years to determine who will form the island's government. In several very close elections, the makeup of the local Island's Trust nearly changed. A group of pro-development residents, the "Galiano Coalition", fielded two candidates that attracted a large percentage of the vote. However, the two winning trustees, Sheila Anderson and Louise Decario, are known conservationists and have continued to advocate for slow development.
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